Delhi Public School

Book review
(3 Mistakes Of My Life)

Submitted by : Karamveer Singh Rao

Class : XI Section : A
The Three Mistakes of My Life (Summary) :

It is the story of three close friends Govind, Ish and Omi.

Govind Loves business, Ish loves cricket and Omi is taken by
religion. Govind wishes to start a business with Ish and Omi
as partners. Together they establish a cricket store on land
that belongs to Omi’s family who own a temple in the
vicinity. The shop rakes in good profits thanks to Ish’s
cricketing wisdom and Govind’s business acumen. Govind
decides to make his next big move by establishing a posh
cricket store in an upcoming mall in the next city. Meanwhile
Ish spots a Muslim boy named Ali who has exceptional talent
as a batsman and wants to train him to be the next best thing
that ever happened to Indian cricket. What follows forms the
crux of the story. Ish’s sister Vidhya provides another twist to
Govind’s turbulent life. However it is the portrayal of Omi’s
religion fanatic uncle that steals the show.
What impressed me most was the way Chetan Bhagat
combined fact and fiction. Govind’s dreams of establishing a
posh cricket store in.
an upcoming mall in the next city are crushed by the earthquake in Gujarat on the 26 th of January,
2001. The setting of the Sabarmati Express on fire by miscreants is also used by Chetan Bhagat and
sadly the incident consumes Omi’s cousin. And of course Chetan gives an interesting take on the

memorable Kolkata test at Eden Gardens when Ganguly’s men grasped victory from the jaws of
defeat against Steve Waugh’s world beating squad. Communal riots from a very important part of
the story and ultimately lead to a gruesome climax. The conversation exchanges between Ish’s
sister Vidhya and Govind that lead to their falling in love with each other are very fresh and
captivating until the point when the author takes things a bit too far in the name of romance
Major characters
• Govind : Govind Patel is an ordinary guy with whom
anybody can relate. He has very few desires but he is
obsessed with the desires he covets. His main ambition is to
become a businessman as he thinks that being a Gujarati,
business is in his blood. His best friends are Omi and Ish
(Ishaan). Govind is an agnostic. His father has abandoned
him and his mother runs a small business. He makes extra
income by giving mathematics tuitions. He continues these
tuitions even after starting the cricket shop business. He is
the narrator of this story and the one who makes the titular
"Three Mistakes". During the course of the story he falls in
love with Vidya, Ishan's younger sister for whom he is a
private tutor. Govind is the one who looks after the financial
part of the business as he has good business sense and
mathematical skills. 

• Ishaan (Ish) : He is a big cricket freak and also a patriot

at heart. Ishaan has been the best cricketer in his locality
and school. He suggests the name of their business as
"Team India Cricket Shop". He helps Govind's business
by organising daily cricket coaching camps. He has a
younger sister, Vidya, about whom he is quite protective.
When he discovers that a boy named Ali is a very talented
batsman, he decides to go any length to give Ali proper
training.
Ishaan usually looks after day-to-day shop activities as he has
genuine interest in anything cricket-related.

Omi : He is the son of the Hindu priest of the local temple.

His family enjoys great respect among the people. Through
Omi's parents and maternal uncle (who own few shops as a
part of the temple trust property), they readily get a place to
start their business. He is a rather dumb boy and has not
many dreams, but likes to concentrate on having a healthy
body. However, he resents growing up and being a saint like
his father. He is a religious person and eventually takes active
part in his maternal uncle's religious politics. He is however
confused about his religious views which are mainly
influenced by Bittoo Mama.

Vidya : She is Ishan's younger sister. She is a rebel at heart

and dreams to break free from the constraints of a typical
middle-class family and society, to go to Mumbai, do a course
in PR and become independent. She however despises maths
which is required for her medical entrance exams. Hence, Ish
asks Govind to take her mathematics tuition. However, in
between their tuition they fall in love, have sexual relations,
which is kept a secret from everyone.
Only Omi figures out the relationship Govind and Vidya share and
also reminds Govind about the consequences of Ish finding out
about the love birds.

Ali : One of the students in Ish's coaching classes and a great 

batsman because of a rare gift of nature. However, he doesn't
play too much cricket as he gets tired really fast and enjoys
playing marbles. He is a Muslim boy and respects Ish like a
Guru. He too, like Ish is patriotic at heart. He denies the
offer of Australian scholarship and wants to play in the
Indian side.

Bittoo Mama : He is the maternal uncle of Omi. Mama runs

the trust of the temple and agrees to rent the place to the
three friends for the Cricket Shop business. He is an active
member of a Hindu political Party. He follows the preachings
of Parekh-ji, a political-cum-spiritual leader and has
complete faith in him. He has locked his horns with Ali's
father who belongs to the Secular Party. He has a son Dhiraj.
Mama is not fond of Govind as he is an agnostic. He is the
main antagonist of the story.

Govind's mom : Gujarati woman. She wants her son to

pursue a degree in Engineering. She runs a home-made food
business. She cares about Govind a lot and supports him well
through his hardships and struggles.
Ali's Father : He is a devout Muslim and works for a secular
 party. He is a very kind-hearted person who wants Ali to
take his education seriously despite his mediocre financial
condition. He treats the three friends very well when they go
to visit Ali in his house. Overall he is a good person.

Fred Li : He is an Australian Cricket Team member and a 

fast bowler. He invites the three friends and Ali to Sydney
 when they travel to Goa to see India-Australia 
One Day International and meet him in the stands. He spots
talent in Ali and wants to help him getting a chance to be
trained in his academy in Australia. Loosely based on 
Brett Lee.
 
About the Author
Bhagat was born in New Delhi to a middle-class family. His
father was officer in the army (Lt Col) and his mother was a
government employee in the agricultural department.
Bhagat's education was mostly in Delhi. He attended the Birla
Vidhya Niketan, Pushp Vihar, New Delhi (1978–1991). He studied
Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
 (IIT-D)(1991–1995). He graduated from the 
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (1995–1997). After
graduation he worked as an investment banker in Hong Kong. He
had been working in Hong Kong for 11 years before shifting to
Mumbai to pursue his passion for writing. He has written six books,
all of which are bestsellers. His two novels were written during his
tenure as an investment banker.

Translation
This English National Bestseller has been published in 
Gujarati language  by a leading Gujarati book publisher, M.B.D.
based in Ahmedabad & Mumbai. This book has been also translated
into Tamil and is published by Diamond Pocket Books. The French
translation was released by Cherche Midi publisher in March 2010
under "Les 3 erreurs de ma vie" title.
Film adaptations
Main article :  Kai Po Che!

The movie version of the novel is Kai Po Che! Directed by 

Abhishek Kapoor starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Raj Kumar Yadav, 
Amit Sadh was released in February 2013. The film and the book are
set in Gujarat, hence the title Kai Po Che!.

My Opinion:
 I love Chetan Bhagat's ability to connect with his reader, his simple
language flow just grips you... yeah, there sure are some limitations,
but highly ignorable. I found his choice of women to be of just one
type... the "sweet, simple and pretty, salwar kameez clad" kinds..
Neha of Five Point someone and Vidya of this book are exactly
similar. The hero is always in a group of 3 friends... the thinking
pattern somehow remains the same.

One more point I would like to add. The mistakes the narrator talks
about are not really such big ones. Anyone would act the same way
he did in his situation. I could sympathize with the character fully
Teacher’s Remark :